<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Beloved by akire_yta</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25353097">Beloved</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/akire_yta/pseuds/akire_yta'>akire_yta</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>prompt ficlets [674]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:34:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>772</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25353097</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/akire_yta/pseuds/akire_yta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>trcunning asked:<br/>Are Joe and Nicky actually married? Fandom keeps saying immortal husbands, but has there been a wedding? (Does one want a wedding but has been to nervous to ask?)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>prompt ficlets [674]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/53353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>208</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beloved</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>The first time was under a tree in a place that no longer exists. Yusef can’t remember the road, but he remembers the tree, petrified by salt from the sea. Back then he was still young enough to be enthralled by forever.</p><p>He was wise enough though to be enthralled by Niccolò, and with a fumbling tongue and inelegant words he tried to say as much.</p><p>Niccolò took his hand under the tree, and smiled that soft smile that told Yusef “I do too.</p><p> * </p><p>The second time, Yusef was covered in mud and blood, panting, eyes ablaze with a righteous fury, and Niccolò had never seen anything so beautiful.</p><p>Part of him was ready to drop to his knees right there to worship in his glory. Part of him was ready to drop to his knees to help Yusef see God.</p><p>But instead he pulled a knife and threw it at the face of the monster trying to sneak up on his darling beloved.</p><p>Yusef didn’t even look, so sure in Niccolò’s aim, and Niccolò’s heart skipped a beat as his soul screamed <em>mine.</em></p><p> *</p><p>The third time, they can still hear Quynh’s screams. They’re all dreaming of her, living and drowning over and over and over again.</p><p>The ship creaks and groans as the scour the oceans, and in his arms, Niccolò shifts and whimpers in his weak, needy sleep. They’re all exhausted, taking turns to be with Quynh in their dreams.</p><p>Niccolò jerks awake with a broken off scream, wet and bubbling. Yusef holds him, rubbing his beard lightly over Niccolò’s throat to give him something real to ground on as Niccolò finds his way back to here and now.</p><p>“Don’t ever let them take me like that.” Niccolò’s voice is low and hoarse.</p><p>They both know it’s an impossible vow; they took Quynh from Andi, after all.</p><p>But Yusef just nips kisses along his Niccolò’s jaw. “I’d burn the world if they took you,” he breathes into Niccolò’s lips, and finally feels Niccolò relax.</p><p> * </p><p>The fourth time, they’re alone in the ruins of some hotel a mere mile from the front. They can hear the sound of shelling from here, but it’s far enough away that their rifles are propped up on the wall, their boots open and drying.</p><p>The small fire keeps the chill at bay, but still they’re sat together, curled in towards each other. Nicky has Joe’s hand, his thumb idly tracing the outline of Joe’s fingers. “They’re calling it the Great War, did you hear?”</p><p>Joe nuzzles Nicky’s hair, cut shorter than it had been in centuries. “Nothing great about it. Canons and guns and bombs and trenches.” Joe could quite happily go through eternity never having to step foot in another trench.</p><p>“Do you think this war will make another like us?”</p><p>Joe gives the question his time; Booker had come to them in war, and they had found each other in war. No-one knew for Andi but Joe wouldn’t be surprised. “Fair question. Why?” his nudge is gentle, and they rock together with the momentum. “Are you getting clucky?”</p><p>The question settles flat and heavy in the air. “They’re all just children. Dying.”</p><p>Joe tightened his arms around Nicky. “We can’t save them all. But maybe we can save a few.” He studied the fire, calculating the time by the depth of the ashes. “And if one of us comes along. we’ll find them too.”</p><p> * </p><p>“So, are you guys, like, married? How does that even work?” Nile is a child, but she’s bright and curious and brave, and Nicky has a lot of time for her questions.</p><p>“As much as anyone is married, we are,” Nicky says, eyes on Joe over in the kitchen trying to hide the vodka from Andi.</p><p>“How’d you convince a priest to marry you two?”</p><p>Nicky laughs, winking as Joe looks over. Joe blows him a kiss, before Andi’s direct attack for the bottle distracts him once more. “A good Catholic boy and the enemy?” he asked back at her instead of answering.</p><p>Nile rolled her eyes. “The Crusades were literal centuries ago. Get over yourselves.”</p><p>He loves her sharpness. “Two not so good boys then?” and her tiny wince tells him he’s scored a hit. “No, Nile, we do not need anyone to tell us what we know in our souls.” Nicky’s hand slipped into his pocket to feel the little ring of metal he’s been carrying there long enough that the surface has been burnished by his nervous fingers. “He is mine and I am his.” He let go of the ring. “Anything more is just decoration.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>